Quiz 1-6 Flashcards
Who built Stonehenge
unknown
Put the following languages, which were all spoken on the British Isles, into the correct chronological order.
Language of the Beaker People, Celtic, Latin, Anglo Saxon
When did the Anglo-Saxons arrive in Britain?
449 AD
Where did the Anglo Saxons come from?
northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein)
Why is Indo-European called ‘Indo-European’ (or ‘Indogermanisch’)?
Because the first theories of linguistic relationship of indo-european language family were about most of the modern European languages and some Iranian and Indian languages to have a common ancestor
Give at least three typical and important characteristics that distinguish the Germanic languages from other Indo-European languages (such as Latin or Greek).
- Grimms law (sounds shifted in Germanic languages bt not in other ones)
- Germanic languages replaced free accentual system (IE) by a system in which root-initial syllables are stressed
- Germanic languages tense and aspect forms are lost other than present and preterite, the new tense distinctions are made through composite forms
- Proto-Germanic and Germanic languages have many words that don’t have cognates in other IE languages
Explain the (original) connection and the later differences between Latin pecu and German Vieh (OHG fihu), English fee (OE fehu)
-> Grimms law shift of voiceless plosive to voiceless fricative (p – f; k ->h)
-> less of inflectional ending (fehu -> fee)
-> lengthening of root vowel in words w less than three syllable and no consonant cluster: e -> ee
What are the possible long-term consequences of the change from the ‘free’ or ‘dynamic’ accentual system of IE to the root-initial accent in the Germanic languages?
unstressed syllables are weakened, loss of inflectional endings in middle English, fixed word order, other markings necessary to clarify the function or words in a sentence
What are cognates? Give the cognates to the following words in a language that has a cognate: sword, brother, ship, people
-> word that is etymologically related to a word from another language and has phonetic similarities to that word (Knecht & Knight) Schwert, Bruder, Schiff, Personen
What is Gothic and why is it of relevance for the study of the history of English?
Gothic is the oldest East-Germanic language that died out In the 17th century.
Name and briefly describe the different writing systems on the British Isles (300 BC -1000 AD)
Celtic Ogham: inscriptions on wood or monuments on stone
Germanic Runes: inscriptions on runestones that commemorate battles or important events
Anglo-Saxon Runes (futhorc) -> vertical & diagonal strokes
When and from where did the re-Christianisation of England take place?
A.D 597 from missionaries in Rome
What are the most important political, cultural and linguistic consequences of the re-Christianisation?
political: England becomes port of European superpower
cultural: venerating only one god, European culture
linguistic: Latin replaces runes
What do you need to produce a book in the Middle Ages?
Parchment (made of animal skin) brimstone (to rough it) goose feather (to write)
Which format is bigger?
folio is the biggest
Name at least 2 of the surviving manuscripts containing Anglo-Saxon poetry
Junius Manuscripts, Vercelli books, Exeter Book
What does Beowulf mean?
OE beo: bee wulf: wolf =beewolf-> bear
Why is the hero called Beaowulf?
originates from a folk tale where a princess is kidnapped by a bear and gives birth to either a human-bear or a human with bear strength
What is an alliteration? Give an example of the standard Old English alliterative line
alliteration: occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words
“Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum”
What is the basic structure of the epic poem Beowulf?
two halves, first: young Beowulf fighting against Grendel and Grendels mother; linking passage: repetition of the most important events, Old beowulf
Why is the poem Beowulf so important for the old English literature?
the oldest and one of the only surviving Germanic poems, gives insight into pre-Christian thinking
What is a kenning?
poetic compound nouns used for metaphoric and pictorial language, sceadu-genga= Schattengänger
What is the Danelaw?
after Danish invasion, England was split into Danelaw and Wessex -> Danelaw ruled by the Danes and separated with a border
Which are of Scandinavian origin?
Rugby, Derby, Eastthorpe, Langtoft, Grimsby
